Sunday 6 October 2013

Tukur has been dismissed from PDP -New PDP

BY: OYEDOTUN QUDUS
The New Peoples Peoples Democratic Party has called for the resignation of the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Bamanga Tukur on the grounds that he has been dismissed from the party.
The faction of the ruling party, which is being led by a former Acting National  Chairman of the party, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, said that Tukur was dismissed from the party in 2006.
It said that since then, there was no record to show that the former Governor of old Gongola State had been recalled or granted waiver by the party’s leadership.
Tukur has however frowned at the accusation, saying it is one of the pranks of the aggrieved group to get him out of office.
He said none of those making the allegation is in possession of any document to show that he was actually excommunicated by the party.
But the New PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze in Abuja on Sunday, insisted that Tukur and nine other members of the party were expelled from the party 13 years ago for anti-party activities.

Students strip in protest over dress code at Kipasvor University in Hungary

BY: OYEDOTUN QUDUS
stripped off in class to protest at a university’s strict new dress code.
Art undergraduates at Kaposvar University in southern Hungary took action after the clothes crackdown was imposed on October 1.
Under the new rules university rector Ferenc Szavai told women to avoid short skirts and thongs, while men have been prohibited from wearing shorts.
Strong perfume, over-use of make-up and “blatant use” of accessories is also banned.
There is expected to be a further demonstration against the new rules on October 7.

US raids Somalia, Libya Towns

WASHINGTON   – US forces struck two militant targets in Africa, snatching a top Al-Qaeda suspect from the streets of Tripoli and launching a pre-dawn raid against a Shebab leader’s home in Somalia.
Libyan authorities on Sunday demanded an explanation about the “kidnap” of one of the “Libyan citizens” wanted by Washington, which US authorities identified as Abu Anas al-Libi, a long-sought Al-Qaeda operative indicted in the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
A separate raid in the southern Somali port of Barawe Saturday failed to capture the Shebab leader and it was unclear whether he had been killed, but a US official said several members of the Al-Qaeda-linked group had been slain.
The raid was reportedly “prompted” by the deadly militant siege on a Nairobi shopping mall last month.
The operation in Libya, also Saturday, appeared to be a success.
“As the result of a US counterterrorism operation, Abu Anas al-Libi is currently lawfully detained by the US military in a secure location outside of Libya,” Pentagon spokesman George Little said in a statement.
A source close to Libi told AFP he was snatched by armed men in Tripoli.
Libi, who was on the FBI’s most wanted list with a $5 million reward, was indicted in US federal court in New York for allegedly playing a key role in the east Africa bombings.
The attacks left more than 200 people dead.
His capture ended a 15-year manhunt for Libi, a key Al-Qaeda operative born under the name Nazih Abdul Hamed Al-Raghie.
It also paved the way for Libi, 49, to be brought to the United States to face trial.
“We hope that this makes clear that the United States of America will never stop in its effort to hold those accountable who conduct acts of terror,” said Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday, speaking from the Indonesian island of Bali.
The action should also make clear that “those members of Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations literally can run, but they can’t hide,” said Kerry, speaking during a break from meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
The US raid took place in broad daylight with the knowledge of the Libyan government, a US official told CNN.
Libyan security services said they were unaware of any kidnapping or arrest of the man.
“The Libyan government has been following the reports of the kidnap of one of the Libyan citizens wanted by the authorities in the United States,” read a government statement said.
“As soon as it heard the reports, the Libyan government contacted the US authorities to demand an explanation.”
Norman Benotman with the Quiliam Foundation, a London-based self-described “counter-extremism think tank,” told CNN that he had direct contact with Libi’s family.
“After he was at prayer in the morning, I think 6:00 am local time, on his way back to his home … a special unit there, about ten people in three cars … they were waiting for him and just snatched him within a few seconds, and he even failed to reach his gun,” Benotman told CNN.
“An old nightmare hunted him down,” said Benotman.
According to the US indictment, Libi and other Al-Qaeda members discussed attacking the US Embassy in Nairobi as early as 1993, and even took pictures of the mission.
In 1994, Libi allegedly drew up plans to attack the mission and a building that housed the United States Agency for International Development, as well as British, French and Israeli targets.
A US official said the operation in Somalia sought to capture a “high-value” Shebab leader, and that no US personnel were injured or killed.
The operation marked the most significant US assault in Somalia since commandos killed key Al-Qaeda operative Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan in the same area four years ago.
It followed an attack by Shebab gunmen last month on the upscale Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi that left 67 people dead during a four-day siege.
“US personnel took all necessary precautions to avoid civilian casualties in this operation and disengaged after inflicting some Shebab casualties,” the official said.
Declining to identify the people who died, the official said that “even in these extreme operational circumstances, the US military is very cautious to minimize civilian casualties.”
Leaders of the Shebab in Barawe, one of the few ports left in the hands of the insurgents, said commandos attacked from the sea and the air, but failed in their attempt to storm a house belonging to a senior commander.
The SEAL team approached and fired on the unidentified target’s seaside villa by sea, according to The New York Times.
Although the Shebab leader was believed to have been killed during the assault, the SEALs had to withdraw before they could confirm the kill, a senior US official told the newspaper.
“The Barawe raid was planned a week and a half ago,” a US security official told the Times.
“It was prompted by the Westgate attack.”
A senior Somali government official told the newspaper that “the attack was carried out by the American forces and the Somali government was pre-informed about the attack.”
Shebab spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab told AFP that commandos had stormed the beach by boat, but blamed Britain and Turkey.
“The bungled operation was carried out by white people, who came with two small boats from a larger ship out at sea… one Shebab guard was killed, but reinforcements soon came and the foreigners fled,” he said.
“Where the foreigners had been, afterwards we saw lots of blood, so maybe we wounded some.”

Kenya names Westgate mall suspects; Leithwaite not listed

By: OYEDOTUN QUDUS
As Kenya named four men said to have been involved in the deadly Westgate shopping mall raid, CCTV footage has been aired showing attackers on the prowl in what looks like a storeroom and a supermarket.
At least 67 people died in the assault two weeks ago. A further 39 are missing, according to the Red Cross. Al Qaeda-linked group al Shabaab says it carried out the attack in revenge for Kenya’s military campaign in Somalia.
Named by Kenya as Sudanese Abu Baara al-Sudani, Omar Nabhan, a Kenyan of Arab origin, Somali Khattab al-Kene and Umayr, whose nationality is unknown, the four are all said to have died in the standoff.
There was no mention of a woman, despite speculation about Briton Samantha Lewthwaite, the widow of one of the London suicide bombers of 2005.
It is still unclear if truly Samantha Leithwaite is connected to the terror attack.
Meanwhile, amid militant reports that one of their bases in Somalia had been raided by Western forces, any link with the mall attack in Nairobi was unclear.

APC accuses Jonathan of using Rivers crisis to test-run fascism

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the presidency of using Rivers State as a testing ground for creeping fascism ahead of the 2015 elections, saying it is imperative for all Nigerians to pay a close attention to the apparently-instigated ugly developments in the state.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said it is raising the alarm because, as the saying goes, all it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing.
The party decried the worsening impunity and the violation of constitutional provisions, including the freedom of association
and freedom of movement, in the state against those perceived to be against the President.
Patience, Amaechi and Jonathan
Patience, Amaechi and Jonathan
”The arrowhead of these grave acts is none other than the Rivers Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu, a malleable police officer who has put himself above the laws of the land and is now, undoubtedly, the Alternate Inspector-General of Police, who can neither be queried nor redeployed because his puppeteers are in the Aso Rock,” APC said.
”Imagine every State Police Commissioner in Nigeria behaving like Alternate IGP Mbu, who neither respects nor takes orders
from the man constitutionally saddled with ensuring security in his state. Imagine every State Police Commissioner having the
powers to determine who can move around and where, or who can assembly and where, just like Alternate IGP Mbu?
”While we may think this madness is restricted only to Rivers State, the danger is that if those behind the Rivers crisis can
get away with their impunity, what prevents them from extending it to other states? What prevents them from raising lick-spittle
police officers like Mbu to the rarefied ranks of Alternate IGPs where they take orders only from their masters? What will be the implication for the 2015 elections if men like Mbu take charge of all states? These are the questions that should agitate the minds of all Nigerians as the Rivers crisis continues unabated. All that is needed for despotism to reign in our clime is for more and more states to have men like Mbu as Police Commissioners,” it said.
APC said it decided to take the issue to the court of Nigerians because it is apparent that even the system of checks and balances set up by the country’s Constitution is not enough, hence a resolution of the National Assembly demanding the redeployment of Mbu has been shredded by the powers that be, the puppeteers of the Rivers crisis.
”When the resolutions of the National Assembly, where the true representatives of the people hold sway, are no longer worth the paper on which they are written, something is definitely wrong,” the party said.
It wondered what else Alternate IGP Mbu will do before he is redeployed from Rivers, where his main assignment seems to be to provide security only for the pro-Jonathan, pro-First Lady and pro-Wike elements while curtailing the Constitutionally-guaranteed rights of all other citizens in the state.
”Mbu’s police have barred the man elected to run Rivers State from accessing a road to his official residence, after launching verbal tirades at the State Chief Executive; Mbu’s police have dispersed citizens whose only offence is that they dared to gather for the purpose of collecting their appointment letters; Mbu’s police have taken it upon themselves to determine who can visit the state, while using tear-gas to ward off those they feel should not visit, whether or not they are State Governors, House of Assembly Speakers or Central Bank of Nigeria officials on assignment. Mbu’s police determine where and when students can move around.
”If Mbu’s reign of the jungle and President Jonathan’s testing of fascism are allowed to continue in Rivers State, it is only a matter of time before the entire country will become their playground, with deadly consequences for all. It is time to stop the madness in Rivers State, where the Chief Security Officer has been put in a position where he is fearful for his own life,” APC said.

source: Vanguards NG

Gov Aliyu bans use of old boats in Niger State


BY: OYEDOTUN QUDUS
Following Thursday, Oct. 3, Boat mishap which claimed 18 lives in Kokoli village of Agwarra Local Government Area, Gov Babangida Aliyu of Niger, in Minna on Sunday announced a ban on the use of old boats in ferrying passengers across rivers in the state.
“The action is intended to ensure that old and rickety boats do not continue to take valuable lives in the riverine communities”, the governor said in a statement issued by his spokesman, Danladi Ndayebo.
Aliyu said the state Ministry for Transportation had been directed to monitor the boat operators and ensure full compliance with all safety standards.
The governor also instructed operators of such ferry boats to provide life jackets to all passengers.
Aliyu assured the people of the state that other measures would be taken to ensure safe water transportation in the state.
He prayed God to grant the families of the victims of the boat mishap the courage and fortitude to bear the loss, and to grant the deceased eternal rest. 

Delta Pipeline Explosion: 2 Dead, 8 Injured


BY OYEDOTUN QUDUS
Two persons feared dead and eight others injured in an NNPC gas pipeline explosion, yesterday, at Okwokolo community, Mereje, Okpe Local Government Area of Delta State.
Officials of the Petroleum and Pipelines Marketing Company, PPMC, were battling to put out the fire ignited by the explosion as at 6.30 pm, but they disputed the claim that two persons died.
Many of the villagers fled for the fear of the unknown.
Two pick-up vans of PPMC were burnt in the fire disaster.
While a source said the explosion was caused by pipeline vandals, a villager said the pipeline sparked fired as PPMC officials were effecting repairs on a ruptured section.
It was gathered the fire started at about 3.30 pm. Our source said the injured persons were rushed to hospital for medical attention.
His words, “They were roasted like chickens. I wonder what they were doing near a gas pipeline. Our people don’t learn from the mistake of others and what they hear. As I speak with you, they are being rushed to the hospital.
“I was on my way to Sapele when suddenly I saw a thick smoke ahead of me and by the time I got nearer, I saw that it was pipeline explosion.”

SOURCE:  Vanguard NG

I THOUGHT MY SON WOULD SUCCEED ME ---CHIEF OLU FALAE

BY OYEDOTUN QUDUS
A former Secretary to the Federal Government, Chief Olu Falae, has said he lost a political successor in his son, Deji, who died in the ill-fated Associated Airline on Thursday.
Deji, who was the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Ondo State, led the state government’s delegation to accompany the corpse of  former Ondo State governor, Chief Olusegun Agagu from Lagos to Akure, for the a state burial.
Falae, who was still grieving over the loss, told the visiting Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, that he had reached the peak of his political sojourn.
“I was looking forward to seeing Deji take over from me, because I have reached the peak of my being in politics. I will miss him so much,” he said.
He, however, noted that he would submit to God since he could not question God over the death of his son.
Tambuwal had visited the home of the chieftain to commiserate with him and his family over the Thursday plane crash.
Tambuwal said Deji was his friend and had sent useful text messages to him on how to move the country forward, four days before the unfortunate incident.
He prayed that God would grant the family the fortitude to bear the loss.
Some traditional rulers in Ondo State also paid a condolence visit to the politician in his Akure home in respect of the sad incident.
Falae, while receiving them, said his son had earned his place in the present Government of Ondo State.
According to him, in spite of his political stature, he never influenced Deji’s appointment as a commissioner.
He noted that his son had been a friend of Governor Mimiko and his appointment had nothing to do with his person.
The traditional rulers, led by Olukare of Ikare-Akoko, Oba Akadiri Momoh, encouraged Falae to have faith in God.
Commissioner for Information, Kayode Akinmade, told our correspondent that the late commissioner had to go to Lagos follow the corpse down to Akure following the request by Agagu’s family that a senior member of the state government should accompany the corpse.
Meanwhile,it was gathered that the Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Segun Mimiko, officially broke the news of Deji’s death to his father on Thursday.
Mimiko, who broke down in tears upon entering Falae’s house, was consoled by sympathisers.
Until his untimely death, Deji was the  Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Mimiko’s cabinet.